Advertisement

Amazon feels labour pains as German workers walk off job

Amazon workers in Germany have walked off the job, demanding higher wages. Getty Images

BERLIN – Workers at two Amazon.com Inc. distribution centres in Germany have walked off the job in an ongoing dispute over wages with the American online retailer.

The ver.di union said Thursday a combined 600 workers stayed off the job at Amazon centres in Leipzig and Bad Hersfeld. The short-term strikes are to last for three days.

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The union is pushing Amazon to adopt wage agreements similar to those governing retail and mail-order workers.

Amazon says its distribution warehouses in Germany are logistics centres, and employees are already paid on the upper end of what workers in that industry earn. It has already agreed to pay Christmas bonuses but ver.di says that is not enough.

Ver.di represents some 2,000 workers in Leipzig and 3,300 employees at Amazon’s Bad Hersfeld centre.

Story continues below advertisement

Read more: High shipping costs keep Canadian shoppers offline 

Sponsored content

AdChoices